partnership between Inertia Labs
( www.inertialabs.com) and
Surveyor Corp. (www.surveyor.
com). The four-motor unit is based
on Sanyo NA-series gearmotors,
specially modified with long shafts for
direct drive of the wheels and treads,
and geared 100: 1 for high torque,
high speed, and a low profile.
Designed for research, education, and
exploration, it is controlled by a 1,000
MIPS, 500 MHz Analog Devices
Blackfin BF537 processor, and it
carries a digital video camera, laser
pointer ranging, and WLAN
802.11b/g networking circuitry.

It can operate as a remote
controlled webcam or self-navigating
autonomous robot, and it is controlled
by onboard interpreted C programs
or user-modified software, or via a
Windows, Mac OS, or Linux base
station. Console software includes a
web server to monitor and control
the bot from anywhere in the world.

The 120 x 105 x 75 mm (L, W,
H) bot weighs in at 14 oz (460 g)
and moves at about 0.5 mph. The
SRV-1Q comes in kit form, but don’t
worry about any lack of technical
expertise. Only six wires need to be
soldered to make it work. All you
have to do is root around in the
couch and come up with $475.

equipped with only one arm and a
serving tray, but it sports an array
of sensors, including stereo color
cameras, laser scanners, and a 3-D
range camera that allows the
machine to register its surroundings
in 3-D, in real time. This allows it to
locate desired items, as well as avoid
inadvertent contact with a human.

When it fetches you a beer,
force sensors keep it from damaging
the container, be it a glass bottle
or paper cup. The arm has seven
degrees of freedom, so the three-fingered hand can pick up a variety
of objects and even operate
machinery. And it can recognize and
respond to spoken commands and
human gestures. Development continues, with no release date revealed.

with jokes, conversations, games, and daily
fortunes found in
various play modes.”

Mr. P. is capable of
detecting and avoiding
obstacles, and he
complains when he
falls. The little clown
even notifies you when
his batteries are low.
Specs include a three-wheeled omnidirectional
base, seven motors,
four IR sensors, and a
microphone for picking
up voices.

Owners will be able to download
multiple personalities, each with its own
set of facial features, and transfer
them to the bot via a USB cable or
memory card. Power is provided by six
“C” cells, whereas the remote control
uses three “AAAs.” Mr. P. should be
available by the time you read this, with
a suggested retail price of $249. SV

Care-O-Bot 3, representing a new generation of
service robots, vs. Rosie. Copyright Fraunhofer.

Prototype Bot Serves Drinks

Nearly half a century ago, the
Jetsons’ robot maid, Rosie, heralded
an age in which robots would perform
heavy, dirty, humdrum, and otherwise
undesirable service jobs. The vision
remains largely unfulfilled, but another
step (or, rather, roll) forward has
emerged in the form of Care-O-Bot® 3,
a prototype developed by researchers
at the Fraunhofer Institute for
Manufacturing Engineering Automation
IPA ( www.ipa.fraunhofer.de/
english/) in Stuttgart.

It looks pretty simple, being

Comedy Bot with Choice of
Temperaments

If you’re tired of boring robots
that have all the charm and wit of a
drill press, check out Mr. Personality
— a Wow Wee product introduced at
the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show
(CES). The most distinctive feature is
his full-color LCD face, which he uses
to display a wide range of emotions.
According to the manufacturer, he
“entertains his human companions